CONDOMS

Okay, this definitely is not mundane. It’s not a question, and AFAIK not a debate or a complaint. But I figure most dopers spend more time in MPSIMS than any other forum. So . . . here it is:

"Direct from the Centers For Disease Control:

Please read the whole letter at:

http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/pubs/mmwr/mmwr11aug00.htm

Excerpts:

August 4, 2000

[Although] a condom lubricated with N-9 [non-oxinol-9] is clearly better than using no condom at all… Given that N-9 has now been proven ineffective against HIV transmission, the possibility of risk, with no benefit, indicates that N-9 should not be recommended as an effective means of HIV prevention…

Any community delivering hierarchical prevention messages that counsel individuals who can’t use a condom to consider spermicides with N-9 for HIV prevention should immediately revise these messages…

We appreciate any assistance you can provide in disseminating this critical public health information.

Sincerely,

Helene D. Gayle, M.D., M.P.H.
Director, National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

CDC Home Page:

http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/dhap.htm

Please pass this information along thoughtfully to people you know, especially parents, making sure to include the date and the URL’s above.

As you know, sex with an infected person is never ‘safe.’"

Please do not direct questions to me, as I only know what this letter says. Perhaps a biologist or doctor or someone can answer questions.

As some knaow, I was married to someone with AIDS.
We had unprotected sex about 16 times, and me and my son are healthy.
I wondered what the odds were on that, but my former husbands doctor said it happens, its not too rare.
Not that I recommend it to ANyone!
Do not try it at home or anywhere else.
I have heard that condoms are only 70% protective; but this is stated by those who promote abstinance as the only way.

I’m not a specialist in HIV, but I am an epidemiologist. Perhaps I can help.

But what’s the question?